Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Sierra Farm

Sierra Farm was founded by Ed and Sharon Hudon in 2006. Following the passing of her husband in 2018, Sharon took over the operation and the farm was recently sold to Matt Dorman's Determined Stud in December of 2021. Sierra Farm sold four mares at last year's Keeneland November Sale and the remaining mares moved to Greenfield Farm.

Sierra farm manager Mike Callanan said that of the current broodmare band, many will point to this year's Keeneland November Sale but added that Hudon may retain several to maintain a small broodmare band. Callanan said they kept that objective in mind as they prepared mating plans for this year.

“This year is a little different with the farm selling,” he explained. “We had to be a little more commercial than usual. We have one eye down the road in November because we plan to have a couple sold then, so that fact has influenced a lot of what we've done. We're trying to do the right thing by the mares but at the same time cover our bases for on down the road.”

ANGEL NUMBER (m, 6, Lemon Drop Kid – Ascending Angel, by Pulpit) to be bred to Constitution

This mare is a half-sister to GISW Nadal (Blame) and she is currently carrying her first foal by Speightstown. She is due any day. She's a big, strong, beautiful mare so physically, we think we could breed her to anything.

We will be sending her to Constitution. He is really one of the most exciting sires out there right now and she is one of our best mares. She's a young mare, so we want to give her every shot and I think no matter what way it plays out in November, we will be great there.

BSHARPSONATA (m, 17, Pulpit – Apasionata Sonata, by Affirmed) to be bred to Silver State

Bsharpsonata has been a very good mare to us. We sold a million-dollar yearling out of her and she is a multiple stakes producer. She had a late foal in 2020, so we gave her a year off last year and then bred her to Nyquist. She is due any day. She is 17 years old now, so we want to be commercial with her without putting an exorbitant amount of money into her.

We love Silver State at Claiborne. He's a big, beautiful-looking horse. She's a Pulpit mare, so a very strong, powerful-looking mare but not the biggest in the world. If you can breed her to something with a little bit of leg, I think it would really help her and you don't often get Hard Spuns with the kind of leg Silver State has. I think he's is a really nice horse.

MISCHIEFFUL (m, 4, Into Mischief – Shanon Nicole, by Majestic Warrior) to be bred to Essential Quality

This filly was stakes placed sprinting at Saratoga and she was very fast as a 2-year-old. We retired her last year and she is going to Essential Quality. We kind of had Essential Quality in mind for another mare, but Darren [Fox] talked us into sending this mare to him. Darren liked the fact that she was a fast-looking horse and physically, would suit Essential Quality. Normally we don't like to breed maiden mares to first-year sires, but I think Essential Quality was an exceptional racehorse. Physically, it ticks the box and if this horse goes to November, it will be a commercial mating.

JUMP UP (m, 14, Jump Start – Susie Joe's, by Bertrando) to be bred to Maxfield

This is the dam of SW Amy's Challenge (Artie Schiller). She's a big, good-looking mare and she has already produced a really nice horse. I think Maxfield is well-priced and he was a really nice racehorse. From a commercial point of view in whatever direction we decide to go, I like this cross a lot. We bred her to Kitten's Joy two years in a row and Amy's Challenge is by Artie Schiller, so we wanted to try something a little bit different.

SCANDALOUS SONG (m, 12, Unbridled's Song – My White Corvette, by Tarr Road) to be bred to Hard Spun

   This mare is a half-sister to champion Stardom Bound (Tapit) and she is already a stakes producer. This year we will be sending her to Hard Spun. I think Hard Spun is a great value at [$35,000]. Every year he produced runners. She's a big, tall mare so I think he should strengthen her up a bit. From a physical point of view, it ticks every box that we're looking for in a mating.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: [email protected].